Anyone interested in winning some business from Dutch pension giant Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP should get his hands on "That's how ABP invests," a new booklet published by its investment arm, ABP Investments.
It contains interviews with senior members of ABP's investment team on a range of topics including the current asset mix, how the €194 billion ($248.5 billion) plan wants to invest more in private equity and the effectiveness of its operations and corporate governance policy.
Paul Spijkers, president of ABP Investments Inc., New York, and manager of alternative investments, talked of plans to invest more in infrastructure funds with a view to eventually co-investing with them.
Ira Handler and Tom Dunn, managing principals at New Holland Capital, the newly independent hedge fund investment arm of ABP, explained investments and the general approach to this complex asset class. About 75% of ABP's €5 billion hedge fund portfolio is invested in individual funds, and half of the firm's hedge fund managers did not have an official track record when the plan first invested in them, said Mr. Dunn.
Market sources are somewhat perplexed as to the point of this "bible" and speculate that perhaps ABP Investments is trying to raise its profile and paint itself as a competitor to commercial money managers.
ABP spokesman Thijs Steger said the booklet is aimed at anyone, including plan participants, who want to know more about ABP's investment policy.
